Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott says the teacher legislation passed Tuesday at Queen’s Park is a step in the right direction, but the chair of the local public school board says Bill 115 is not welcome.
The bill, which includes a two-year wage freeze and ban on teacher strikes as well as sick-pay reductions and other measures, was approved with the support of Liberal and Progressive Conservative members.
“For months, the PC caucus has been advocating for an across-the-board salary freeze for everyone in the government and the broader public sector, as a step towards getting their spending under control,” Arnott said in a news release.  “We supported this bill because it does represent a step in that direction.”
Ontario’s deficit is projected to be around $15 billion for the current fiscal year, out of total government spending of $126 billion, he said, and the province’s net debt is expected to climb from $237.6 billion to $260.4 billion.
This year alone, he said, Ontario will pay $10.6 billion in interest on the provincial debt – the third highest expenditure in the provincial budget, behind only health care and education spending.
“I can understand why teachers are disappointed, because I respect them and appreciate the important work that they do,” Arnott said.
“They are dedicated and caring professionals who have the vital task of providing our children with the skills and knowledge that they will need. However, the reality is, after nine years of Liberal overspending and mismanagement, there is simply no money for pay raises this year.”
Upper Grand District School Board chair Bob Borden doesn’t like Bill 115, though.
“It’s really not a welcome piece of education,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “We’d much rather have had the unbridled opportunity” to negotiate with local educational unions.
The heads of the two unions representing teachers in the province’s English public schools – the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation – expressed outrage this week at the passing of Bill 115.
Borden said he’s worried about the effect the legislation could have on his board’s good relationship with its teachers.
“I’m sincerely worried about what’s going to happen to the very positive relationship we have established with our teachers,” he said.
“I’m really concerned that the anger that is in the unions right now may end up causing problems . . . and kids may end up the losers.”